Sam Breckenridge was already a successful football coach when he first became a wrestling official in 1965.

Learning and honing his officiating skills on small school junior varsity and varsity mats, Sam was dedicated to becoming the best.

He relied heavily on the tutelage of Jay Hankins and Pat White and quickly became a respected official within the Kansas City area.

By 1971, Sam was selected as the Kansas City official to work the 4A State Championships in St. Louis for four consecutive years.

He was selected as the outstanding wrestling official by the Missouri Wrestling Coaches Association and gained national recognition in 1984 when the National Federation of Interscholastic Officials Association named him as an outstanding official.

Upon his retirement in 1988, after 18 consecutive years of officiating the state tournament, Sam was inducted into the Missouri Wrestling Hall of Fame.

He continued his involvement with the sport at Raytown South High School as an assistant wrestling coach and received the Lifetime Service to Wrestling award from the Missouri Chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2001 for his contribution to the sport as an official and coach.